Trichomonosis due to Trichomonas gallinae infection in barn owls (Tyto alba) and barred owls (Strix varia) from the eastern United States

Kevin D Niedringhaus; Holly J Burchfield; Elizabeth J Elsmo; Christopher A Cleveland; Heather Fenton; Barbara C Shock; Charlie Muise; Justin D Brown; Brandon Munk; Angela Ellis; Richard J Hall; Michael J Yabsley

doi:10.1016/j.vprsr.2019.100281

Trichomonosis due to Trichomonas gallinae infection in barn owls (Tyto alba) and barred owls (Strix varia) from the eastern United States

Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports. 2019 Apr:16:100281. doi: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2019.100281. Epub 2019 Mar 7.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, 589 D.W. Brooks Drive, Wildlife Health Building, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. Electronic address: kevindn@uga.edu.
² Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, 589 D.W. Brooks Drive, Wildlife Health Building, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
³ Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, 589 D.W. Brooks Drive, Wildlife Health Building, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. Electronic address: ejelsmo@wisc.edu.
⁴ Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, 589 D.W. Brooks Drive, Wildlife Health Building, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, 180 E Green Street, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
⁵ Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, 589 D.W. Brooks Drive, Wildlife Health Building, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. Electronic address: Heather_Fenton@gov.nt.ca.
⁶ Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, 589 D.W. Brooks Drive, Wildlife Health Building, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. Electronic address: Barbara.shock@lmunet.edu.
⁷ Georgia Bird Study Group, Barnesville, GA 30204, USA.
⁸ Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, 589 D.W. Brooks Drive, Wildlife Health Building, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. Electronic address: judbrow@pa.gov.
⁹ Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, 589 D.W. Brooks Drive, Wildlife Health Building, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. Electronic address: brandon.munk@wildlife.ca.gov.
¹⁰ Antech Diagnostics, 1111 Marcus Ave., Suite M28, Bldg 5B, Lake Success, NY 11042, USA. Electronic address: Angela.Ellis@antechmail.com.
¹¹ Odum School of Ecology and Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. Electronic address: rjhall@uga.edu.
¹² Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, 589 D.W. Brooks Drive, Wildlife Health Building, College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, 180 E Green Street, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. Electronic address: myabsley@uga.edu.

PMID: 31027606
DOI: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2019.100281

Abstract

Trichomonosis is an important cause of mortality in multiple avian species; however, there have been relatively few reports of this disease in owls. Two barn owls (Tyto alba) and four barred owls (Strix varia) submitted for diagnostic examination had lesions consistent with trichomonosis including caseous necrosis and inflammation in the oropharynx. Microscopically, these lesions were often associated with trichomonads and molecular testing, if obtainable, confirmed the presence of Trichomonas gallinae, the species most commonly associated with trichomonosis in birds. The T. gallinae genotype in one barn owl and two barred owls was identified as ITS-OBT-Tg-1 by sequence analysis. Columbids are the primary hosts for T. gallinae, and columbid remains found within the nest box of the barn owls were the likely source of infection. This study is the first to formally describe the strains and genetic variation of T. gallinae samples from clinical cases of trichomonosis in barn and barred owls in the eastern USA.

Keywords: Owl; Strix varia; Trichomonas gallinae; Trichomonosis; Tyto alba.

Publication types

Case Reports
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Bird Diseases / diagnosis
Bird Diseases / parasitology*
Bird Diseases / pathology
DNA, Protozoan / chemistry
DNA, Protozoan / isolation & purification
Female
Genotype
Male
Retrospective Studies
Strigiformes / parasitology*
Trichomonas / classification
Trichomonas / genetics
Trichomonas Infections / diagnosis
Trichomonas Infections / parasitology
Trichomonas Infections / pathology
Trichomonas Infections / veterinary*
United States

Substances

DNA, Protozoan

Grants and funding

T35 OD010433/OD/NIH HHS/United States